The Music Man Square and NIACC Performing Arts Series present River City Christmas with Shirley Jones.

The Mason City Foundation and NIACC Performing Arts Series proudly present the Miss Shirley Jones Christmas Show, a wonderful evening with holiday cheer for the whole family.

She will take the North Iowa Community Auditorium stage on Saturday, November 30, at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and cost $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

The North Iowa Choral Society, directed by NIACC Vocal Music Director Jayson Ryner, will perform several pieces with Shirley Jones. Local musicians will provide instrumental music for the performance.

For tickets to Miss Shirley Jones Christmas Show, call the NIACC Box Office at 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4188.

The NIACC Performing Arts Series is sponsored by the Globe Gazette, NIACC, the Elizabeth Norris Charitable Fund, Alliant Energy, First Citizens National Bank, Hanford Inn, Henkel Construction, Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, OmniTel Communications, Pepsi Cola General Bottlers of Mason City, the Principal Financial Group, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Heartland Arts Fund and the Iowa Arts Council.

A Holiday Banquet at The Music Man Square by the Mason City Foundation will also be available before the show for an additional $30.

For more information please contact The Mason City Foundation at 641-421-7893 or toll-free at 866-228 6262.

Returning to the United States for the tenth consecutive year, the top-level international ballet company Moscow Ballet will perform the Great Russian Nutcracker for North Iowa.

The dancers will grace the North Iowa Community Auditorium stage on Tuesday, December 10 at 7 p.m. as part of the NIACC Performing Arts Series. Tickets are on sale now and cost $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

The company has been heralded by the press for its uniquely Russian style and its embodiment of the classical traditions of Russian dance. The 42-member all-Russian cast features international ballet competition gold medallists and 30 local ballerinas.

This production will also include a vocal performance by NIACC's Concert Choir, directed by NIACC instructor Jayson Ryner.

Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker combines the family favorite with a special prayer for peace. Unlike many American adaptations, the Great Russian Nutcracker ends not in the Land of the Sweets, but in the Land of Peace and Harmony, a message that is as timely as it is timeless.

The Great Russian Nutcracker has charmed audiences for more than a century because it takes its audience to a world of enchantment and peace where dreams are made real, language is no barrier and it is always the season of love and giving.

Moscow Ballet's artists, who range in age from 19-30, begin their training at the tender age of 8-12.

This year marks the company's 10th anniversary touring the United States.

For tickets to the Great Russian Nutcracker call the NIACC Box Office at 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4188.

Kate Hickman
Entertainment Editor

I'm sure I'm not the only one to think that dysfunction is more amusing when it's associated with someone else and/or their family.

I know that sounds twisted, but really I'm thinking of one family in particular when I express such a comment.

And this family has subjected themselves voluntarily to such comments.

I was flipping back and forth between VH1 and MTV, as I usually do when I actually get a chance to relax, and low and behold I saw a ÒCatching up with the Osbournes"show. That can only mean one thing.

Season two of The Osbournes, MTV's most successful show to date, is under way.

I've never been so excited to watch a season of censored expletives and mumbling British banter.

In most cases, I wouldn't waste a breath before cutting down a reality show for it's stupidity, but for some reason this show is different.

Perhaps I hold this one a little nearer and dearer to my heart because it portrays family life I am familiar with, yes even the amount of cursing.

The only difference obviously being the freakishly large amounts of money the family takes in, and the rock legend father.

Although the show has been embraced by many, it has not been embraced by all.

Bill Cosby doesn't hesitate to give his opinion, which scrutinizes not only the show, but also the Osbourne children directly.

On the other hand, Dr. Phil, best known for his appearances on the Oprah show, is a fan of The Osbournes.

He has said he thinks it's beneficial to show a "real" family, not one designed by casting directors. I feel the same way.

Families swear in casual conversation sometimes, humor is often bitingly sarcastic, siblings fight verbally and physically and we all have probably had a negative experience with our neighbors.

It's a real reality show, with a real family without the extremes and stresses of Real World, Big Brother or Road Rules or any other reality TV show.

It's appealing because it's a family that one can relate to, at least on some level.